Evolve Lab has now been in early access for three months, and I wanted to update you all on which features are currently in my pipeline.
Since the early access release, I have already added the following features:
A rotating planet, with new randomized options after each extinction event
The option to play with extra lives on all planets
Badges for the first players to reach a new depth
Many bug fixes, visual improvements, and balance changes
I am really happy with the current balance of the existing planets and will now turn my focus toward implementing some of the bigger features that I think are needed to improve the overall experience and make the game more appealing to even more players. Since these will be larger changes that require more testing, the pace of updates will slow down. However, I will try my best to give you access to intermediate versions and beta branches so I can gather your feedback as early as possible.
Interface + Gameplay Loop Rework
I am currently working on reworking most of the game’s UI. The goal is to make more information available to the player at a glance and to give the interface a more modern look. The two snippets below show my work in progress on the rework of the state machine and the shop. Players should now be able to see all actions and their modules without the need to scroll.
I am also tweaking the gameplay loop slightly so that there are fewer scene transitions and animations before a player can get back into the action.
Additionally, I will be adding a new comeback mechanic that should make early losses less punishing and allow for longer runs, since I think Evolve Lab is the most fun when you can see your builds coming together at deeper depths.
I hope to have the first iteration of the redesign ready by the end of this year for you to test on a beta branch, and then released to everyone at the end of January.
Hats + Skins
I have decided to postpone the implementation of hats and skins until after the UI redesign to avoid having to do work in the old style that I would then need to rework later. I know many of you are eagerly waiting for this feature so you can customize your creature and give it even more personality.
Players will be able to unlock a skin or hat using pioneer tokens or by fulfilling other criteria (for example, reaching certain ranks in ranked mode). They can then spend their research and deep research points to obtain copies that can be equipped to creatures during a run. After an extinction event, all equipped items will return to the player’s inventory and can be used again.
Ranked Mode
Ranked mode is for players who want an even greater challenge. You will have a separate rank for each planet in the public galaxy, and when you play ranked mode, the depth you reach will determine how your rating changes. The higher your rank, the deeper you will need to go to continue improving it.
Planet 5
Planet 5 will add the following content to the game:
2 creatures
10 actions
4 modules
12 cores
2 new challenge rewards
Since it may take quite some time before all this content is ready, I will occasionally introduce parts of it on the rotating planet so players can try them out early and I can collect feedback and adjust the balance. There is no guarantee that all actions tested on the rotating planet will make it into Planet 5, and they may change significantly.
Other Improvements
There are many other features I plan to add, often based on your feedback. I am also constantly fixing bugs and improving the game’s stability and performance. Some additional planned features include:
Steam achievements
Improved depth overview with more tracked stats
Controller and Steam Deck support
Syncing online progress and creatures with offline mode
More polish in the form of sounds, animations, and particle effects
Your Feedback Matters!
As always, let me know if you feel something is missing from this list or if you have other ideas and suggestions. This is only a rough roadmap, and I am open to changing it if the community is eagerly awaiting a particular feature.